Also: HP hires headhunter; SCO may lose Nasdaq listing; trade associations band together; ACM to honor Cerf and Kahn.
U.S. government agencies last week collectively received a D+ grade on their cybersecurity efforts, a slight improvement from the grade they received a year ago from a congressional watchdog committee.
A year ago, the U.S. government received a D grade from the House Government Reform Committee – eight agencies received failing grades. For 2004, seven agencies received failing grades. The transportation and state departments made significant improvement in the past year. In December 2003, the Transportation Department received a D+ grade; this year it received an A-. The State Department raised its grade from an F to a D+. On the other hand, the Commerce Department’s grade declined from a C- to an F, and the Department of Veterans Affairs fell from a C to an F. The Department of Homeland Security received an F for the second straight year. Asked during a press conference if he was frustrated with the marks, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) said government agencies are generally “moving in the right direction. . . . We need to move faster, and I hope it won’t take some kind of cyber[attack] to crystalize everybody.”
HP has hired headhunting firm Russell Reynolds Associates to help it find a new CEO following the ouster of former chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina. The search will be conducted with the “highest level of confidentiality,” HP said last week,and added that it will not comment further on the hunt. Fiorina’s sudden departure on Feb. 9, which was pinned on a disagreement with HP’s board over how to execute the company’s strategy, has led to wide speculation over who will replace her. HP CFO Robert P. Wayman took over as CEO on an interim basis, while HP Director Patricia Dunn became nonexecutive chairman.
Software maker The SCO Group is in danger of losing its Nasdaq listing for failing to file its 2004 annual report on time. SCO plans to request a hearing on the matter, which will delay its removal from the exchange, but the company began to trade under a modified ticker symbol – from SCOX to SCOXE – to indicate its delinquent filing status. SCO says. Nasdaq notified it last week of the potential delisting. The company has not filed its 10-K annual report on the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2004, within the 90-day time frame mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. SCO attributed its delay to an examination of stock grants related to the company’s compensation plans. While SCO did not file its annual report with the SEC, it did put out a press release in December summarizing its results for the year. SCO’s revenue dropped 46%, to $42.8 million, while its 2003 profit turned into a $23.4 million net loss in 2004.
Three trade associations for security professionals, ASIS International, The Information Systems Audit and Control Association and the Information Systems Security Association, last week said they will work together on concerns common to their 80,000 members. Although the organizations don’t plan to merge, they will work under the banner name “The Alliance” to have a single voice in legislative and government policy matters. They also will work together to define formal training for security professionals to promote business and management skills demanded in the workplace. The Alliance founders also said they are open to other organizations, such as SANS Institute, joining the combined effort.
The Association for Computing Machinery is finally giving network technology a little respect. Last week, the 58-year-old organization for computing professionals announced plans to award Internet pioneers Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn its prestigious A.M. Turing Award. Awarded annually since 1966, the $100,000 award is named for British mathematician Alan M. Turing. Past recipients include mouse inventor Douglas Engelbart, and Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, the creators of Unix. The 2004 award is the first to be given for work in computer networking. News of the award came as a “huge surprise,” Cerf said in an e-mail interview. “Historically, this award has gone to people more involved in fundamentals of computer science.”
Cerf is senior vice president for technology strategy at MCI and has played key roles in many groups that put the Internet on the map. Kahn is chairman, CEO and president for the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, which he founded in 1986.
